and it's so good that you have to close your eyes to really enjoy it...

which leaves you looking like this...

it seems the clear choice is to go here to clean up...

#greatglutenfreedayinthecity

well, spring break is here and warm weather is right around the corner - this must be why in the past two days I have talked to two different families who just booked a trip to disneyland! apparently it's the place to go! i have to say, it was a ton of fun! we tend to be a slow-moving, easily pleased family, and to be honest we contemplated not going to disneyland on this trip. i mean really, dane was 4, and had no concept of what the place is all about - we did toss around the idea of just visiting the disney store, buying a couple of things, telling him that was disneyland and calling it a day! but we have heard so many times that 4 is such a great age to do disney, and we knew it would create amazing memories. so we did it! and it sure did create amazing memories for all of us!!

my sister gave us some great advice before we went, in regards to eating while we're there - she said to go to the town hall as soon as we arrived and pick up the list of gluten free eateries. she also gave us the best piece of advice - make sure we stop for food before we're really hungry, as the gluten free options take a while to make.

we quickly found out that they no longer hand out the gf availability list, their reasoning is that the food choices are changing so frequently at all of the different eateries that they couldn't keep the list relevant. fair enough, right? the good news is that almost every single place in all of disneyland, california adventure, and downtown disney cater to us! eating there was actually really seamless, pretty good tasting, and easily accessible!

at each place we stopped at they brought out the chef right away, who explained to us their processes and how they were going to keep us safe. at the cocina cucamonga mexican grill, we had really good, fully loaded burritos in corn tortillas, ordered directly through the chef. in cars land, we stopped at the cozy cone motel and had great chilli! it was a perfect, fibre and protein filled afternoon snack! they had a second pot of chilli that hadn't been served out of yet so we had them scoop our out of that one - the other chilli was being served in a bread bowl, and the risk would be that the scoop would have touched the bread bowl and then contaminated the rest of the pot of chilli. so a fresh pot was perfect! do request that! Ariel's

in disneyland, we had great success as well. for lunch we were a split vote - half of us at at bengal's barbeque, where they serve beef and chicken skewers that are cooked on a grill where no gluten is used at all. there is gluten in the sauce so we went for skewers dipped in ketchup and thoroughly enjoyed them! the other half opted for the plaza inn, where the chef went as far as to show them that their meat, cheese, and gluten free bun were all individually packaged and had no chance of contamination. chips and sandwiches hit the spot for them! we scarfed down some street vendor kettle corn during the parade, bought way overpriced bananas after we got off of splash mountain, and otherwise munched on the snacks we had brought with us just in case the food didn't work out as wonderfully as it did!

in downtown disney we had so many options - and loved our choice of the rainforest cafe. we've been to a few other ones in different locations and this one was by far the best! the gorilla beside our table came to life every half an hour, in between the elephant waking up and the thunder storms flexing their muscles! we made a reservation - that is key at any restaurant you'd like to eat at! the morning of is just fine but without a reservation at the actual restaurants, you're going to be waiting an awfully long time! the chef came out to talk with us within minutes of us sitting down at the table, and he rocked. he ensured that there was no contamination with any of our food, and was fully of knowledge about what menu choices were safe for us. we ate beef, beef and more beef - fajitas, stew, more fajitas... we all tasted eachothers and it was all delicious! i highly recommend it both for the experience as well as the food! we also hit up jamba juice twice, and they were able to find the info we needed on a specific list they have of gluten-containing ingredients that they use. the smoothies and juices were a great breakfast and nice to be able to grab and go instead of sitting down to eat - there was so much to see, we didn't have time to sit down!

so all in all, disney was a great, gluten free experience. no sick bellies, no frustration, and no complaints! only big kuddos for disney being so heads up and educating their staff on our behalf! and my sister was very right - do be sure to stop for food before you're starving as it's not an overly quick process.

oh beer, how you're missed in the gluten free world! but don't fret my friends - there are actually quite a few options out there for those of us who's kryptonite is the big "g". i did enjoy a nice, cold beer back in the day, but wouldn't call myself a connoisseur. so i'm going to refer to the experts on this one and send you onto a great blog post in regards to what beer is great, what beer might not be so great, and most importantly - for you to see just how many options are out there! click here for the list 'o plentyin my experience i've found that three different beers from the list are the most accessible - true grist (even though the author of the article doesn't love it, ya never know, you just might!), red bridge (which is on his best beer list), and bard's (also on the thumbs up list). i've found them to be available at most liquor stores, and even some local restaurants and pubs. oh how the world is getting so savvy...

the big topic of debate: budweiser. while it is made from rice, it is not gluten free. the gluten free aussie explains it well so i'll send you on over there for the scoop: click here for the budweiser situation

and last but not least, sake. is sake safe? from the information i can gather, there are two kinds of sake that are gluten free: gekkaikan, which is the traditional kind, and junmai, which is pure saki. in other words, the real stuff is naturally gluten free. however, some less expensive kinds opt for fermented grains as fillers so make sure you read the labels and do your due diligence!!

and then you've gotta turn it green... right? make sure that after you've gone to the extent of finding a gf beer, you don't throw it all to heck with some gluten-containing dye! clubhouse food coloring is always a safe bet, and if you've got something else you're hoping to use be sure to check it out before it goes near your glass. (for tips on how to check out a product or company, click here)

have a blast of a st. patrick's day, and enjoy celebrating everything green and irish!cheers to the feast of st. patrick -

well my friends, after spending the last three weeks focusing on nothing other than vacationing with my family, i'm back in the game! and i've got some good things up my sleeve - here's what you can look forward to this week:

+just in time for spring break, how to be gluten free at disneyland!+st Patrick's day - to beer or not to beer?+my kitchen table - a few new recipes i've cooked up this week+a great american gluten free menu that will have you salivating and heading to the closest location!+and get ready for this month's newsletter - including hot topics like how to be a gluten free easter bunny!

but in the meantime, here's a breakfast idea you may not have thought of:

you betcha, an avacado. i may have mentioned before that i have this compulsive behavior where i sneak healthy ingredients into anything and everything. and smoothies are the easiest way to sneak nutrients into anyone - if you've ever had a smoothie at my house, you can bet i snuck some oils in there, and a source of fibre, probably some kale or spinach, and for sure some probiotics. so beware! we have a vitamix and i can even toss a vitamin or two into a smoothie and this great machine will blend it until it's so fine that you'd never even know it!

my dane is not only gluten free, he is also dairy free - which is very common in the celiac world. this can make for some fairly bland smoothies when his favorite ingredient used to be yogurt! so my solution to make it good and creamy is to add half of an avacado! it will hardly alter the flavor, and aside from creating a great texture, it adds some great oils to your (or your little one's) breakfast!

no wonder this guy has spent 4 hours a day at the pool all week! he's full of it - i mean he's full of energy ;) it was good! whatever your favorite smoothie, try adding an avacado and see what happens!

i dare ya to try it tomorrow, you might just become a compulsively sneaky shake maker too...

Author

my name is jess, and i'm a mama, a passionate foodie, and i love to learn - and i'm celiac. actually, so is my son. combining that minor detail with my love of food and life has given me great reason to create a lifestyle that is both gluten free, and a heck of a lot of fun. i'd love to help you do the same!